


Unbelievable

by trilobites



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bad First Impressions, Fixing Relationships, Food, Gen, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Hinata Shouyou Gremlin Agenda, M/M, Miya Atsumu Has ADHD, Miya Atsumu is a Jackass, No Volleyball, Orphans, Parent Hinata Shouyou, Sibling Relationship, Teacher Miya Atsumu, Telekinesis, Wrong first impressions, some volleyball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trilobites/pseuds/trilobites
Summary: After an accident brings Natsu to live with Hinata, they struggle with the new shape of their family and with managing Natsu's growing telekinetic powers. None of this is helped by Natsu's new teacher, Miya-sensei, who seems determined to hate him. When Miya-sensei calls Hinata in for a parent-teacher conference, he's forced to confront him. Jerk.
Relationships: Hinata Natsu & Hinata Shouyou, Hinata Natsu & Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu
Comments: 14
Kudos: 133
Collections: AtsuHina Exchange





	Unbelievable

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yeastlings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeastlings/gifts).



> Prompt 4: Matilda-esque AU where there are no abusive parents or aunts involved. It's just that Natsu has telekinetic abilities like Matilda, and Shouyou is trying to take care of her on his own (either his mom has passed away or she works all the time and therefore isn't home that often). Yes, this makes Atsumu Miss Honey. He is sweet with the children but not with adults. Wrt to age, Atsumu is a recent teaching program grad, so he's probably ~22-23. Hinata is still one year younger than him, so I would love to see him as a college junior/senior! I'd like it if Natsu is in grade school, so her age difference with Hinata will probably have to be bigger than it is in canon lol. Atsumu asks Hinata for a parent/teacher conference to discuss Natsu's special abilities, which he's noticed, and Hinata is like u g h because they might or might not have gotten off on the wrong foot (AKA Hinata thinks Atsumu is a big fat jerk and Atsumu thinks he's an overbearing gremlin of an older brother).

The school hallways were lined with wooden floorboards, worn in the shape of sunbeams coming in through the window. They creaked every time someone walked past where Hinata sat with Natsu. Even though she’d been the one to insist that everything was fine, she was jogging her legs and fidgeting with her uniform pants.

Even just a year ago, Hinata would have put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair comfortingly, but Natsu hadn’t been receptive to physical affection since the move to Amaranth Town. The train accident, transferring schools, locking up their family home—all the losses had been too much at once. Rather than dwell on it, Hinata reached into his backpack front pocket and pulled out a candy bar. Sure enough, Natsu’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“I’ll give you my half,” he offered.

Natsu suddenly frowned. “I’m 12, Shouyou, not 5,” she said.

There it was again, ‘Shouyou’ and not ‘big brother’ or ‘Shouyou-nii.’ Hinata grimaced. She looked up at him and pointed.

“Miya-sensei is really nice, so don’t be a jerk to him, ‘kay?”

“Huh? When was I a jerk to him?”

“Since you pissed him off on my first day of school,” she explained, mouth full. “But he still asks me how you’re doing and how our family is anyway. So just be gracious.”

‘Gracious.’ The irony of her saying this to him while calling him ‘Shouyou’ didn’t escape Hinata. Where did he start with this? “First of all, don’t say ‘pissed off.’ And second, I’m always gracious.”

Natsu looked at him skeptically. Then she waved her hand a little, and the candy bar in Hinata’s hand flew into her grasp. Hinata’s eyes widened.

“Natsu, what the hell!” he hissed.

At that, Natsu paused in the middle of tearing open the candy bar and had the decency to look remorseful. Maybe it hadn’t such a good idea to give her the entire thing; Hinata felt a little bit like he could use some chocolatey nougat comforting, too. Before he could say anything more, the classroom door opened, and a pair of feet stepped forward on those creaky, creaky floorboards.

In the doorway stood Natsu’s teacher: Miya Atsumu with his blonde hair and sleepy brown eyes, all neatly buttoned up even though it was the end of the day. He smiled at Natsu.

“Hi, Natsu-san.” This was apparently how he addressed all the students at Perennial Elementary School.

Natsu beamed, giving her favorite teacher a decidedly distinctive reception from her own brother (her only brother!). “Hi, Miya-sensei!”

No doubt she was relieved to have Atsumu come save her right in the nick of time. This wasn’t over, he would make sure of that. For now, this conference. Hinata stood to his feet hurriedly and gave a quick bow.

“Hello, Miya-sensei.”

Atsumu turned to him. There was a schooled, impassive look on his face as he returned the greeting. “Hello, Hinata-san.”

Sweat beaded on Hinata’s brow. He’d never said as much, but he knew that Atsumu didn’t like him. In spite of always toeing the line of professionalism with the students and parents, he wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings. It was obvious, starting from how he looked at Hinata to how slowly he talked around him, like Hinata wouldn’t be able to understand his lofty pedagogical pursuits. He was a university student, too, you know!

“That’s just how he talks all the time!” Natsu had explained.

“Then he’s just a condescending jerk to everyone, I guess.”

“Seriously, Shouyou?”

Hinata was an adult enough to admit that Natsu was probably right. It was just that every time that Hinata decided to put his best foot forward with Atsumu, he was reminded of Atsumu’s disdain for him. He clutched at the straps of his backpack and held in a sigh. What had he missed afternoon classes to bike back all the way from Mulberry for? It wasn’t like he was Atsumu’s biggest fan either.

“Why don’t you both come in?” Atsumu suggested.

“Me too?” Natsu asked.

Atsumu nodded. “Since it’s about you, too, Natsu-san.”

Natsu got up from her seat and came up behind Hinata, nudging him to go in first. Hinata looked down at her, still a couple of heads smaller than him. The part of her hair, pulled into pigtails on either side of her head, was uneven; no one had been there to check it for her that morning. There were a lot things that Natsu did on her own, but there were still so many more that she needed Hinata for. His irritation eased, and he smiled at her before he turned to walk into Atsumu’s classroom.

Hinata looked around the room, with its well-used chalkboard and shelves lined with everything from textbooks to novels. It was a tight fit with all the desks, but they had been arranged in clever clusters to maximize walking space. Hinata sat down across from Atsumu at his desk and tried not to be nervous. Atsumu hadn’t explained what this parent-teacher conference was about, and when Hinata had asked Natsu about it, she had sworn up and down that she wasn’t in trouble. He cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry to take your time after classes for this,” he said.

“Huh? It’s fine. I was the one who called you.” He brought over a pitcher of water and held it up. “Do either of you want some?”

Hinata shook his head, and Natsu remained just as silent next to him. Atsumu blinked and then he sat down.

“Right. Well, I don’t know how else to bring this up.” Atsumu took a deep breath. He reached into the desk drawer and pulled something out. A spoon, bent neatly in half backwards at the neck. Atsumu set it on the desk.

Hinata had been expecting something like a bad test grade or maybe even a record of how Natsu had gotten into a fight with a classmate. The sight of the spoon made him even more nervous than anything he could have anticipated. His palms began to sweat.

“I want to talk about this.”

“Um, is that so? This spoon is…very broken,” Hinata said intelligently.

Atsumu gave him an unimpressed look, his professional exterior broken at last. Ha, so he did hate Hinata. He’d always known it. The triumph he felt in being right lasted for all but five seconds. This was about Natsu. Right. He didn’t need to be a seer to know what was going to come out of Atsumu’s mouth.

“Natsu-san is responsible for this.”

Hinata whipped his head around to narrow his eyes at Natsu, who was shrinking in on herself. She grinned sheepishly. Oh, she was so dead when they got home. He turned back to Atsumu.

“So this is a disciplinary issue? How do you know that it was Natsu?”

Atsumu shook his head. He gathered his hands together in front of him and steepled them. “No. The reason why I called you here is because…I know Natsu-san has special abilities. I saw her doing this in the courtyard last week.”

Hinata stared at Atsumu, and felt his stomach falling out from beneath him.

* * *

It had been midnight when the call had come. Hinata had been out with his friends at the university village celebrating the end of exams, and Natsu at their cousins’ in their hometown. Even now, he remembered the cold pins and needles in his fingers when the police had informed him that he needed to come identify his parents’ bodies. The funeral and transfer of the house to him had gone by in a flurry, but the task of managing outstanding debts and closing his parents’ accounts had been syrupy slow to follow.

Hinata had refused their aunt and uncle’s offer to take care of Natsu while he finished up university and brought Natsu with him to Amaranth Town instead. No matter how unconfident he was, he wouldn’t leave his only remaining family all alone. Besides, there was also Natsu’s secret that he’d promised to protect.

“I don’t know anyone at this new school.”

“You didn’t know anyone at your old school either,” he pointed out, trying not to lose his patience.

The streetcar was crowded, and the other school kids wearing Natsu’s same uniform were staring at them. Natsu lifted her chin and pretended not to notice. The star-shaped barrette in her hair glimmered. Hinata smiled.

“I know you’ll make friends really quickly. Since you’re athletic and cute just like your big brother.”

Natsu gave him a long look before she lowered her head. “Sure.”

“What?”

“Nothing. You just wouldn’t get it, Shouyou.”

Rather than scold her for calling him that, Hinata let it go. It was the first day of school, and she was nervous. It wasn’t her fault that the train between Elderberry and Blackcrest had crashed, and that their parents had been among the unfortunate ones. He just squeezed her shoulder and walked with her all the way from the streetcar and through the hallways of Perennial Elementary. Hinata knew that she was really nervous because she didn’t complain about him doing so.

“You have your amulet?” he asked.

Natsu held it out, a small, orange sphere with googly eyes and two arms and two legs. It had on white gloves and shoes. Vabo-chan. It helped Natsu keep control over her powers and gave her something to fidget with when she got antsy.

“Good. What’s your teacher’s name again?”

Natsu pulled out a slip of paper from her bag. “Miya…Atsumu. Class 6-2.”

The sign for ‘6-2’ was right overhead, and a young man was holding the door open as students walked in. He greeted them with a grin and, for the more outgoing students, a high five. His hair was a shocking shade of ash blonde, slicked in a neat combover. It didn’t escape Hinata’s notice that he was very attractive. This person seemed too young to be Miya Atsumu, responsible for managing an entire class of unruly sixth graders. Maybe a teaching assistant? Hinata remembered what it was like whenever student teachers had come to his school, how the students had giggled and invariably asked them whether they were single.

When the queue of students dwindled, the student teacher turned to them and waved.

“You must be Hinata Natsu-san.”

Natsu nodded, suddenly shy in the face of a stranger. Hinata rubbed her back comfortingly.

“Yes. Hello.”

“Welcome to 6-2. Want to head inside?”

Natsu nodded again. She looked at Hinata and waved. “Bye,” she mouthed, before going inside as quickly as she could.

“Remember to keep Vabo-chan on you!” he called after her.

Only Hinata remained with the student teacher outside. He held out his hand and smiled brightly.

“I’m Hinata Shouyou, Natsu’s older brother.”

The student teacher stared at him, blinking a few times. Was there something on his face? He had made sure to check before leaving the house. Well, no helping it now. Hinata grinned and hoped it would make this student teacher warm up to him. He was slow to respond, kind of had a slow lilt in his speech, too. But eventually he reached forward and shook his hand. The skin of his palm was smooth where it brushed against Hinata’s.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Um, I know this might be strange, but when the teacher comes, could you make sure that Natsu has permission to hold onto her amulet? It helps her to keep it with her.”

The student teacher blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Oh!” Hinata flushed a little, suddenly flustered. He’d never asked what his parents had said to Natsu’s teachers so that she could keep Vabo-chan in her pocket even during class. It was definitely too late to ask now. “I mean, it’s more like a toy—a little orange thing. I don’t know what the classroom rules are, so I wanted to make sure she had permission.”

“Ah, I see. Of course I will.”

“Thank y—”

The student teacher suddenly smiled widely. Hinata thought that should have been a good sign, but he felt inexplicably threatened as he walked backwards into the threshold of the door. He crossed his arms and looked up at the classroom sign above them. His eyes went wide.

“Oh, look! Class 6-2. That means it’s me. I’m the teacher, and I’m here. I guess Natsu-san has permission.”

Hinata felt his heart sink. This was where he put his foot in his mouth, wasn’t it? So the person standing in front of him had been Miya Atsumu all along. What kind of teacher looked like that? His hair was bleached! His shoulders were so wide they nearly brushed either side of the doorjamb! Hinata opened his mouth to apologize, but Atsumu beat him to the chase.

“Hinata Shouyou-san, I suggest that you stop being so overbearing. In case you haven’t realized, Natsu is 12 years old, not 5.”

Hinata’s mouth dropped open at that. He couldn’t even come up with a response to the extremely unpleasant aura emanating from Atsumu. What kind of school had he enrolled his sister into? Before he could get in another word edgewise, Atsumu was waving at him.

“Goodbye, Hinata-san! Classes are over at 2:45 in the afternoon.”

With that, he slid the door shut with finality, and Hinata was left gaping all alone in the hallway of Perennial Elementary.

* * *

Sweat dripped down Hinata’s brow. He stared hard at the spoon, bent neatly in half on the desk between Atsumu and Natsu and Hinata. Bending spoons had been one of Natsu’s earliest and easiest tricks. She’d first done it at the age of four, and Hinata had come home from school to see their mother crying with Natsu bouncing in her lap. After that day, Natsu’s powers had only grown, and she was now even able to levitate Hinata off the ground when he annoyed her enough.

At fourteen, Hinata hadn’t realized exactly what their parents had feared for his sister. Vabo-chan and helping Natsu temper her excitement had been a game of sorts. It was like the Z-Men! However, his sister was no mutant, and there was no Doctor Z and his school full of acceptance. There was only this world they lived in, where it was up to Hinata to protect Natsu now that their parents couldn’t.

Hinata turned to Natsu, who stared up at him with wide, fearful eyes. “You don’t have to say anything, okay?”

She nodded.

Hinata looked at Atsumu, gripping the edge of the desk. Which way was best? He could lie and try to convince Atsumu he’d imagined it, but that would involve having Natsu lie as well. The stress wouldn’t be good for her. He never wanted to make her feel like she had to hide. Hinata gnawed the inside of his cheek before he finally asked, “What are you going to do to Natsu?”

Atsumu frowned. “I’m not trying to do anything—”

“You called me here and showed me some kind of evidence, so it really seems like you’re trying to do something from where I’m sitting!” He stood to his feet and glared down at the spoon and Atsumu both.

Atsumu’s brow relaxed, and it took him a long moment to speak: “I’m sorry. I should have started this conversation better.” He reached out and put his hand over Hinata’s. “I know you care about Natsu more than anything. It was obvious that she needs more support. I just want to help however I can.”

Hinata blinked down at the hand over his, slender fingers squeezing his in a comforting gesture. The Atsumu who had so nastily kicked Hinata out of his classroom was nowhere to be seen. Atsumu was nice and sweet, Natsu had insisted. Hinata thought he could see that sweetness in him after all—in the clarity of his gaze and firm set of his mouth. There was absolutely no insurance in Atsumu’s words, but Hinata couldn’t help feeling convinced that he really did just want what was best for Natsu. What that was, even Hinata himself couldn’t tell anymore. He sat back down in his chair and decided to accept this offer for what it was.

“Okay,” he said, suddenly tired.

Atsumu seemed to get the hint; he turned to smile at Natsu and took out a jar full of candy from his desk. “Do you want some, Natsu-san?”

Natsu nodded and took a gummy packet from the jar. She opened it and chewed while Hinata gathered his bearings. Atsumu then grabbed a tray full of pencils.

“Would you mind helping me by sharpening these, Natsu-san?”

“Okay.” Natsu took them to the sharpener on the far side of the classroom, but not before glancing over at Hinata.

“Are you okay?” Atsumu asked, as soon as Natsu was out of earshot.

Hinata looked up at Atsumu. Although he was grateful not to be alone in this, he didn’t know what Atsumu could do that was any different from what Hinata and Natsu’s family had done before. He was trying to find a diplomatic way to voice this.

“I just wanted to know: do you…have some kind of plan?”

Atsumu drummed his fingers against the desktop and propped up his hand on his cheek. He seemed deep in thought. “Sort of. I have ideas that may help Natsu-san. Why? Are you doubtful?”

Hinata didn’t mean to come across as skeptical. He really didn’t! So he kept his mouth shut and shook his head.

“I once taught a kid who couldn’t do their times tables for anything how to do long division, so I know I can do anything.” Atsumu grinned. It was more reassuring than it had any right to be, as brash and unabashed as it was.

As he sat there in the cramped wooden chair made for grade schoolers, the realization dawned on Hinata that he was dangerously close to falling in love with Miya Atsumu.

* * *

The toilet bowl was glimmering and Hinata felt triumphant at the sight of it. A little bit of elbow grease was all he needed to be a homemaker after all, no matter what Natsu said about how often they ate takeout at the food court down the street. Yes, now no one would know that he struggled to find time to finish his laundry and bike to classes on time every day, especially not Atsumu.

“Hmm? You got that super clean, Shouyou.”

Hinata turned around and saw Natsu standing in the bathroom threshold. She was smiling impishly, like she’d discovered him in an embarrassing position.

“What?”

Natsu’s smile widened. “You seem like you’re trying awfully hard to impress Miya-sensei.”

“What?” Hinata closed the toilet lid with finality and flushed. “Definitely not. I just don’t want him to know that we live in filth.”

“Yeah, okay, Shouyou,” Natsu said, voice full of the cynicism only a twelve year old could emit. It was cutting and left Hinata feeling judged. “I finished cleaning my room. Oh, and it’s 10:45 already.”

“ _What?!_ ” Hinata nearly dropped the toilet brush. He poked his head out of the bathroom and saw that Natsu was right. The hallway clock read 10:45. Now 10:46. He shut the door to the toilet room and scrubbed his hands clean at the sink. Atsumu was supposed to be here in less than 15 minutes! He ran a comb through his hair and tried to press it into a respectable shape before giving up and running to his room to change. He pulled on one of his button-up shirts and pants just as the doorbell buzzed.

“Shouyou, he’s here!”

 _Obviously!_ Hinata was so close to finished when he saw stray socks lingering in the living room. He grabbed them and chucked them into his room right as Natsu opened the door. In the threshold was Atsumu, hair loose and arm laden with a small canvas bag.

“Hi, Miya-sensei!”

“Hello, Natsu-san.” When he saw Hinata, he waved. “Hi, Hinata-san.”

Hinata bowed his head and mumbled out a greeting. Natsu seemed to have no trouble inviting Atsumu indoors herself. She pulled a chair out for him, no hands required, and sat at the opposite side of the table with an expectant look on her face. Hinata dragged a hand down his face, but this just seemed to amuse Atsumu, who laughed.

“You’re excited for more homework, Natsu-san?”

Natsu’s smile faded a little. “‘Homework’?”

Hinata came to sit down next to her, and they both watched Atsumu pulling out a notebook and a packet of paper. He flipped the packet to the first page and held it out for Natsu and Hinata to read. On the page was a series of prompts for daily self-reflection and instructions on how to log things like mood, meals, and any other things that Natsu wanted.

“When you think about your abilities, do you think of them like an inconvenience or something you have to hide?” Atsumu asked.

Natsu didn’t look at Hinata before she nodded; she felt guilty, like she was admitting that there was something wrong with how their family had done things up until now. Hinata reached under the table and squeezed Natsu’s hand once.

“I just want to be like everyone else,” she said.

Atsumu stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I understand. There are things that make us different and hurt us. But did you know? Sometimes these things are just skills that we don’t know how to use yet, and no one tells us that we can.”

Natsu blinked up at him. “‘Skills’?”

Hinata tilted his head. He didn’t see where this was going, but he held his tongue. In the months of unhappiness that had followed the accident, this was one of the few moments he’d gotten to see his sister approach the world with curiosity and enthusiasm. If this was what Atsumu could accomplish, then he would trust him a little bit longer.

“Skills, like learning how to cook or speaking a new language! Or a killer serve that makes you invincible.”

Natsu’s eyes sparkled. “So my powers are like a star athlete’s serves?”

Atsumu nodded sagely. “But of course, you don’t become like that overnight. You have to know how you’re feeling, what’s the thing about building this skill that is most difficult to you, how the rest of your life affects this skill.” Atsumu grabbed the notebook with gusto. “That’s what this is for! You can write about all of these things and collect your thoughts. A journal is the best way to look back and perfect your skills.”

Hinata and Natsu looked at each other.

“Shouyou, do you get why he wants me to write in a journal?” Natsu whispered.

Hinata shook his head. “No, not really.”

“I thought this was going to be about teaching me how to use my powers.”

“Well, maybe we should be patient. He only just started explaining it to us.”

At that, Atsumu deflated a little. He slapped his hands down onto the tabletop. “Yer killin’ me, the both of ya!”

Hinata blinked at the same time that Atsumu clapped a hand over his mouth. That was a strong western dialect just now, wasn’t it? He managed to muffle his snort of laughter into his palm, but it was too conspicuous: Atsumu’s face had turned completely red. For the first time since Hinata met him, he was entirely speechless. Out of equal parts sympathy and amusement, Hinata grabbed the journal and prompts packet and handed them both to Natsu.

“Why don’t you go look at this so Miya-sensei can take a break?” He gave her a significant look, which she thankfully seemed to get. Natsu shrugged and walked into her room.

“Would you like some tea?” Hinata asked.

Finally, Atsumu seemed to recover a little. “I…brought things, too.” He pulled out a bag of onigiri and set it on the table. On the face of it was a logo that read ‘Miya.’ Hinata examined it before he smiled at Atsumu.

“Okay, then I’ll get tea.”

He went into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of barley tea from the fridge, along with the fruit he’d cut earlier that morning. When he set them both down, Atsumu even managed to look up at Hinata and say, “Thanks.” Hinata wondered if he was ever going to speak again.

“So…”

“Don’t.”

Hinata had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling. So the real reason behind Miya Atsumu’s indolent drawl was because he was trying to keep his native dialect from slipping out. Hinata couldn’t help finding this fact about him cute. Even though he wanted to ask him an entire list of questions—Where was he from? Did he move to Amaranth Town to teach? When?—he pushed the plate of fruit towards Atsumu.

“You should try the honeydew. It’s very sweet.”

Atsumu flushed again, and he stabbed one of the honeydew slices with a fork. He stuffed it into his mouth, suddenly absent of the professionalism that he’d maintained up until now. Hinata also took a bite of the honeydew. Under normal circumstances he would have pressed for more answers, but this was Natsu’s teacher and he was here to help Natsu with her powers. The thought sobered Hinata up a little. He swallowed and set down his fork.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Atsumu mumbled, “So long as it’s not about the dialect.”

Hinata shook his head. “No. I was wondering…I mean, I won’t be able to pay you for your time. And you haven’t brought it up even once. So why are you helping us?”

Atsumu stared. “Huh?”

Hinata glanced up at him quickly then looked back down. It was a little bit embarrassing to accept help from someone he’d been determined to hate, and now he was even talking about money with him. “I just mean, don’t you have other things you want to do?”

Atsumu took a long moment to answer, and Hinata couldn’t help prompting him.

“Did you fall asleep?”

“ _I’m thinkin’!_ ”

The words fell so naturally from his tongue that Hinata had to muffle his laughter again. Atsumu’s face bloomed red, but he didn’t look away from Hinata when he spoke. “I just want to be helpful to Natsu. She struggles even though she’s trying her best, and I couldn’t figure out why. Turns out, she knows that there’s only one person in her corner and doesn’t want to burden him with more than he’s already dealing with.”

It was Hinata’s turn to blush. His cheeks suddenly went warm under Atsumu’s knowing gaze. How much had Atsumu figured out about their family? Very little, Hinata hoped, but he knew that it was wishful thinking.

“Besides, I’m not a teacher because I want to make money, and even if I were, I wouldn’t take it from a kid like you!”

“What? I’m an adult!” Hinata protested.

“You’re still in university! And probably trying to hold stuff down with just a part-time job, so shut up and accept my help!”

 _Shut up?_ ‘A kid’? ‘A part-time job’? What was wrong with his part-time job? Hinata gaped before he shut his mouth. He pointed at Atsumu, uncaring that he was Natsu’s teacher and here during his free time and that he was supposed to be responsible for Natsu’s sake.

“You’re—! You’re a jerk! I knew it!” he squawked loudly. “Ever since you got offended that I didn’t know you were the teacher! It was a mistake, you know! I would have apologized if you weren’t such a jerk!”

Atsumu blinked at him, but instead of getting mad like Hinata expected, he burst out laughing. The sight of it confused Hinata—not the least because he found the way Atsumu’s eyes crinkled and his face lit up endearing and warm. He lowered his finger, remembering himself.

“I’m sorry.”

Atsumu shook his head. “That suits you better than trying so hard to act like a parent all the time.”

“Um, Miya-sensei—”

“You can just call me Atsumu.”

“But it’ll be weird, since you’ll still speak formally to me. Even though you’re pretending, too.”

Atsumu stroked his chin. “Then I’ll call ya Shouyou-kun. How’s that?”

To Hinata’s mortification, his face heated up at that. There was a sudden familiarity and comfort in Atsumu’s words and demeanor. He didn’t understand why Atsumu was helping them or why he’d started treating Hinata differently. Hinata was an adult and he’d been okay going it alone with Natsu up until now, but Atsumu made him feel like he didn’t have to be. How troublesome.

“If you want to,” he said, looking up at Atsumu, who looked right back at him. The corner of Atsumu’s mouth lifted in a grin. He reached for Hinata’s hand across the table.

“I’m done.”

Hinata and Atsumu both jumped. Natsu. Right. Hinata turned and saw her standing behind him with the notebook in hand. She frowned, looking between him and then Atsumu. Her gaze narrowed in on where their hands were on the table. Hinata pulled his hand back into his lap.

“I didn’t see you there, Natsu.”

Atsumu cleared his throat. “Good job, Natsu-san.”

Natsu didn’t comment on what she saw, coming forward to hand the notebook to Atsumu. “Do I give this to you?”

“You should keep it for yourself and just share the parts you want. Later.”

“Later?” Natsu asked.

“‘Later’?” Hinata repeated.

“Later,” Atsumu said, rummaging through his bag. He pulled out a bright yellow and blue volleyball. “Wanna play, Natsu-san?”

Natsu’s eyes lit up immediately, the incident with her brother and Atsumu’s hands totally forgotten. “Yeah!”

Their parents had been cautious and discouraged Natsu from playing sports, afraid that she would lose control of her powers and injure herself—or worse, others. It didn’t help that she was competitive and eager to win. Old habits reared their head and Hinata felt an admonishment on the tip of his tongue. Then he saw Natsu’s expectant expression, the bag that Atsumu had filled with things he’d hoped could help her. ‘A kid’? Like Atsumu knew any better; he couldn’t be more than a couple of years older than Hinata was. It didn’t matter, though, because they both wanted the same thing, in the end. So Hinata bit down on his words and said instead, “There’s a park near here with a volleyball net.”

“Yes!” Natsu jumped, fist pumping into the air. She bounded over to the door and pulled out her shiny, unworn sneakers. “Miya-sensei, play on my team!”

“Ha, are ya sure your brother’s ready for that? I’m pretty good, y’know.”

“So is Shouyou! Even though he’s short.”

“Hey!”

Just like that, the three of them went to the park down the street, where a volleyball net tenuously hung from two poles. Natsu didn’t care at all, excited for any kind of recreation. She stood in a huddle with Atsumu, nodding seriously as they discussed strategy. He didn’t think much of it—that was, until Atsumu tossed the ball pinpoint sharp to Natsu and she slammed it right into Hinata’s face at the net. The surge of pain through his nose was secondary to his indignation, especially when the ball hit the floor on the other side of the net.

“Our point!” Natsu crowed.

“Natsu, how could you!”

Natsu wasn’t listening. She was jumping up for a high five with Atsumu. “Just like we planned, Natsu-san.”

Of course it was planned. The two of them were terrifying together, Hinata could admit that much. Atsumu and Natsu’s flashy plays caught the attention of bystanders, and it didn’t take long for other kids to crowd around the makeshift court. Atsumu bowed out, reminding the kids to return the ball.

“Or I’ll come getcha.”

“Whatever, mister!” one of the kids said.

“I ain’t a mister!” Atsumu screeched, but was ignored for his troubles.

“Natsu-chan, will you be on my team?”

Natsu’s grin went wide, but then she faltered before turning to Hinata on the other side of the net. For permission. Playing with Atsumu had been one thing, but peers her own age was another thing altogether. How long had it been since he and Natsu had played together? Had fun together? It had been so long that he’d seen her in such high spirits that he’d almost forgotten what it was like. The things that he’d learned to fear, what would follow after discovery, were no less scary, but it was equally startling to realize the distance that had grown between him and his sister. And for what? It hadn’t made Natsu any safer or happier. Letting his unease lie, Hinata smiled reassuringly at her and waved.

“I’ll just be over there with Miya-sensei. Have fun,” he said, and went to the bench where Atsumu sat. He bought drinks from the nearby vending machine and handed one to Atsumu.

They sat in silence as Hinata watched Natsu jumping for the ball and devising ways to score past the blockers across the net. It was still novel, and he couldn’t stop staring.

“Atsumu-san, thank you,” he said.

“Huh? What’s with that suddenly?” Atsumu looked embarrassed again, like he couldn’t stand any focus on his attentiveness. Hinata smiled and finished what Atsumu hadn’t earlier: he reached and squeezed Atsumu’s hand on the park bench between them.

“Uh, wa-wait, Shouyou-kun—”

“I was really scared before, that something would happen to Natsu, and that there would be no one left with me. But I didn’t think about how I was pushing her away by trying to be something I’m not.” He looked at Atsumu and said, “So thank you—for bringing us here and reminding me of that.”

The tips of Atsumu’s ears had turned pink, but he didn’t pull his hand away from Hinata’s. “S’not a big deal,” he murmured. “‘Sides…it’s like ya said: I know stuff about pretendin’ too.”

Hinata’s smile widened, and he sat closer to Atsumu. In the oncoming evening air, his warmth was palpable along Hinata’s side. The countless questions he had for Atsumu still remained, about when he’d come to teach at Perennial Elementary, whether he’d always been good with kids, why he didn’t like using his dialect. However, he didn’t ask any of that as he sat with his hand in Atsumu’s. This moment was perfect as it was.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” he asked.

“Is that okay?”

Hinata nodded. “Also, I scrubbed the toilet and I want you to see it.”

Atsumu’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“It’s hard to explain. I thought it would be impressive.”

“You’re so weird,” Atsumu said, fondness in his voice.

Hinata grinned. They sat there like that until it was time to return with Natsu in tow. The three of them walked home together in the twilight, their matching silhouettes cast on the pavement beneath them.

**Author's Note:**

> "Matilda said, 'Never do anything by halves if you want to get away with it. Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Make sure everything you do is so completely crazy it's unbelievable...'"
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed your fill, OP!


End file.
